Bot Fighting
by Prue Lawrence
Summary: Hiro meets Tony Stark, who has become interested in Hiro's abilities as a genius teenager, curious about Hiro's bots, and furthermore, Tadashi's creation of Bamax. This story is on hiatus unfortunately, because I want to make the story better, so it will take longer to complete. This story will probably be done over entirely. :(
1. Chapter 1

o Chapter 1

 _**Big Hero Six characters and setting are not my own creation. This is just fan fiction! This is also for my best friend who has the biggest crush on Tadashi, ever. 3 3 I think it's super cute, and so, despite the movie, he is Hiro's companion along with Baymax. This is also a universe where super heroes exist, which is where Iron comes in.**_

Hiro sat on his bed, staring at the small black bot in his hands. He turned it over in his fingers. This was where it all started, he thought.

Assortments of things littered his room. Posters of movies he'd seen, knick knacks on shelves. Clothes lay half strewn on the floor. He sighed. Might as well clean up his half of the room a bit. But he kept staring at his bot.

"It's been awhile since you've been to a bot fighting match, hasn't it, Otōtosan?" Hiro glanced up to see his brother walking up the stairs to their room. Tadashi knocked teasingly on the door frame.

Tadashi sat beside Hiro, his long, gangly legs strewn out in front of himself. Hiro felt the bed beside him sink as Tadashi's weight sank into the mattress.

He took the robot out of Hiro's hands—Hiro let him, looking up at his brother curiously.

The two brothers were known for their knowledge of robots. Of technology in general. Hiro put his hands back onto the bed, lounging. Though he was not as tall as his brother, or not nearly as old, he still felt a connection to him.

"Thinking of adding spikes to it?" Tadashi asked, teasingly. He handed the robot back to his brother, who smirked and took it back.

"You have the day off from your nerd school?"

Tadashi pinched Hiro's cheek—hard. " _Our_ nerd school, little brother. And yeah, I do."

Hiro rubbed at his cheek, though he grinned. The college had given him more time off than Tadashi, hoping to get him more used to the college life. Though Hiro objected to this vehemently, he was told that a thirteen year old shouldn't have to spend so much time up at the college.

Secretly, Hiro felt glad that he had more time to take college courses. After all, he was still middle school age, yet he had all the time in the world to get a bachelor's degree, or even a masters or doctorate degree—if he wanted to.

More importantly, he could spend more time with his brother.

As if reading his thoughts, Tadashi asked, "Do you want to go someplace, today? Anywhere you want. As long as it doesn't burn a hole through my wallet."

Hiro rested his hand on his chin, smiling coyly. "Anywhere?"

Tadashi raised an eyebrow. "Bot fighting it is."

Tadashi had been meaning to make his own bot when he had started to take Hiro bot fighting. Technically bot fighting was legal, even if taking bets on it wasn't. It hadn't stopped Hiro before—despite the countless times that Tadashi had reprimanded him about it. In the end, Tadashi gave up trying to stop him.

Knowing that convincing his brother to not go felt near impossible, Tadashi began giving Hiro rides to the bot fights on the condition that Tadashi could watch over him. Which also included Tadashi making sure Hiro didn't actually bet on any of the matches, though Hiro hoped he would give in eventually. Tadashi hadn't budged yet, and Hiro wondered if he ever would.

Hiro clasped the motorcycle helmet onto his head. Tadashi did the same and climbed onto his motorcycle and glanced back to his little brother. "Ready?"

Hiro climbed on, giving him a thumbs up. "You okay leaving Baymax here?"

"Yeah, he's just charging up for a little while. Besides, I feel a bit too protective of the big guy being too near the ring, you know?"

"Oh, so you're not overprotective of me, then?" Hiro joked.

Hiro felt his big brother chuckle, as he wrapped his arms around him to stay on the bike. "No, I am. It's just that I know I can only stop one of you. And you know which one of you that is."

"Whatever you say, Niisan." Hiro grinned—he heard Tadashi chuckle lightly before he revved the engine. Hiro felt the motorcycle start to thrum beneath him, the engine purring as it came to life as Tadashi urged it to move. Hiro buried his face into Tadashi's broad back, clutching his small robot in his hand.

The two brothers arrived at the bot fighting matches. The place looked more like an underground fight club to Hiro than any other kind of competition. Technically, fighting took place there—bot fighting. Not actual fist fighting, technically. Still, Hiro did feel a slight unnerving feeling stepping into the place sometimes. Smoke from cigarettes poignantly stung his nose, and he exhaled sharply, as though to expel it. He rubbed at his nose frantically to get rid of an insistent itch.

"Bless you?" Tadashi joked, gesturing to his brother. "C'mon, Otōtosan. You're going to miss some of the best matches."

Hiro tried to look over the shoulders of the onlookers—even between their arms or even under their legs, but still his eyes failed to see any kind of bot fighting. He frowned, placing his hands on his hips.

"Need a lift?" Tadashi asked, nudging his little brother lightly. Tadashi half knelt, half crouched to let Hiro clamber up onto his shoulders. Tadashi let out a small "Oof," and a, "What did you eat for lunch?" Tadashi then stood slowly, and Hiro felt the entire world go up and up and up as his big brother straightened.

"Woah, woah, woah," Hiro exclaimed, clutching onto his brother's forehead, holding onto his bot all the while. "Woah."

"You okay, Hiro-chan?" Tadashi asked teasingly.

" _Shizukani, urusai_ ," Hiro muttered, jutting out his lower lip slightly.

"I love you too, Otōtosan," Tadashi said. " _Damare_ and watch the match."

Hiro did shut up, though begrudgingly. The match flashed before his eyes in movements that his eyes barely captured. Even Tadashi stepped forward eagerly to see the match. Hiro sat up taller, squinting over heads to see into the ring.

The two competitors were both girls, both staring intently into the ring and their robots. Clashes of steel from each bot sent sparks up into the air. At that particular moment, both robots struck at each other, then skidded back toward each other's owners, both dragging a robotic hand into the cement, making a loud _scree_ noise. Hiro stared at the both of them.

The bot on Hiro's right belonged to a girl with long black and hot pink hair. She wore heavy black makeup around her eyes, with a deep hue of purple eyeshadow. Her lips matched her hair, the rims lined with black, the insides filled with pink lipstick. Sweat smeared some of this on her face. Hiro shuddered at the intense look in her eyes. They looked murderous.

The girl on the left looked worse. Brown haired and frowning, she sat cross legged and leaning forward. She hunched in on herself, staring intently at the match with beady, piggish eyes.

The second girl's bot, painted bright red and silver, stood up straight. She spoke in a surprisingly higher pitched voice: "Give up?"

The pink haired girl jerked her controller. Hiro noted a small metal piece ringing her bottom lip move as she spoke. "One more round," she spat.

The brown haired girl girl simpered, giggling. "Okay." She seemed… confident. Too confident. It unnerved Hiro. He stared at the pink haired girl who pushed a thick tress out of her eyes. She winced—from wiping away sweat, maybe. Her bot, painted pink, retreated slightly before running at the red robot, claws jutting out from its robotic hands. The crowd murmured at this new weapon coming into the ring. The brown haired girl merely smiled.

Hiro scowled at her. _Make a move!_ he wanted to shout. The red robot stayed in its place, standing strangely upright before the pink robot charged toward it.

Fast spinning windmills with points jutted out from the red and silver robot, from its torso, and up its arms. Everywhere except from the ankles down, the red and silver robot stepped forward three steps before the pink robot could stop its momentum. A sound too close to metal dragged down a chalkboard whined in Hiro's ears, and he plugged his ears. He squinted at the bots just in time to see the pink robot jerk in its place, see the windmills stop mid-swing, and finally, see the red robot kick at the pink robot's destroyed body. It soared backward in open space before landing on its head, skidding across the cement floor to its owner, defeated. Annihilated, more like.

Hiro stared at the brown haired girl. _Impossible,_ he thought, glancing from girl to girl. He had never seen a robot do anything like that before. The winner had already stood, and confidently walked to the money bowl and take a large wad of yen from the bowl. The woman holding it stared, her mouth slightly opened, disbelieving.

"Anyone willing to fight the victor?" the referee called out. As the crowd murmured, Hiro felt Tadashi shift underneath him, and Hiro glanced down. Tadashi seemed to be fishing for something in his pocket. He pulled out a leather wallet. He opened it to pull out several yen notes and hand it up to Hiro. Hiro didn't dare look at how much Tadashi gave him, but looked down at his big brother instead, who stared at Hiro with a confident smile.

"You sure?" Hiro asked.

"No. But get out there, anyway. I want to see if my genius little brother can beat the victor." Tadashi smiled.

Hiro finally looked at the bills in his hand, and his eyes bulged. In his hand, he realized he clutched two 5,000 yen notes.

 ****Author's note: 10,000 yen equals just over eighty US dollars.****

"Where did you get the money to—"

"Shut up and go before someone else does," Tadashi said harshly, and before Hiro could protest, Tadashi crouched to let Hiro clamber off. Hiro more of stumbled, and, flailing to catch his balance, Tadashi caught Hiro's arm before he fell too hard. Hiro thrust one foot in front of himself, and when he felt that his balance was steadier, he straightened and looked back at his brother. Tadashi nodded to him, and made a small shooing motion with his hands. _Go,_ his eyes seemed to say. Hiro nodded and grasped the two yen notes in his hand, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. By now, the people around him began to look uncomfortable. No one wanted to face this girl, Hiro knew.

"Any takers? Any at all!" the referee shouted.

With more confidence than he felt, Hiro raised his arm up in the air. "Here!" he called.

The crowd parted, and Hiro winced, staring at the referee who stared back at him with a glimmer of relief in his eyes. "You, there?" he asked.

"Uh—yeah, yeah," Hiro sputtered. "M—me."

The woman with the betting bowl—Hiro wasn't even sure what to call it—lowered it down to his level, as he reached up and placed the two 5,000 yen notes into it, feeling a begrudging pit start to expand in his stomach. No time to regret the decision though, as he made his way to one side of the ring across from the brown haired girl.

He stared at her from across the ring, and she stared back, raising an eyebrow. Hiro frowned and sat, crosslegged on his end, placing his bot directly in front of him. Despite its simpleness, the robot proved deadly in most bot fights but this girl… Never had he seen a bot with that type of mechanics before. He had seen spikes sure, but this? Nothing like this, he thought, feeling a cold bead of sweat roll down the side of his head.

Hiro heard Tadashi calling from within the crowd. "Come on, Hiro! You can do it!"

Hiro turned to smile at his brother, who had taken off his cap and waved it in the air shamelessly for his little brother. Hiro felt a slight boost of confidence from this, and he turned back to the match, feeling that, in a weird way, Tadashi had his back no matter what.

He focused intently on the girl, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. The oxygen helped clear his mind as he closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again. He gripped the control panel in his hand, letting out his breaths through his nose. He already felt sweaty from all of the bodies in the room, and his arms trembled uncontrollably.

"Contestants ready?" the referee called from the outside circumference of the ring. Hiro begrudgingly nodded, though he didn't meet the referee's gaze.

"Yes, we are," his opponent called from across the ring. He met her gaze, and she smirked with that same confident smile she gave the pink haired girl. It unnerved Hiro, and he bit his lip.

"Right. Ready: three… two… one… Fight!"

The pink robot moved—and fast. Hiro's bot dodged, but only just in time before the pink robot slammed its fist into the ground where Hiro's bot just stood. A loud crack resonated throughout the ring and room—singing shrilly in Hiro's ears. Hiro stared, wide-eyed at the girl, but she barely took a breath before coming toward him again and again, as Hiro dodged and swerved.

"You're like a little monkey," the girl smirked. "Always avoiding, never fighting back. Are you a man, or not?"

Hiro grit his teeth, staring into the ring. There had to be an opening—somewhere. She had to have some kind of weak spot. The only reason he could see why she wasn't taking it easy this time was because…

Because what? That didn't matter right now. But the girl was right. He couldn't just keep avoiding her hits like this. The girl's bot swung, and upper-cut his bot's jaw. The control panel vibrated in his hands, indicating the damage his bot took.

"Come on, Hiro! You'll only get hurt if you don't hit back!" Hiro didn't have to turn around to know who shouted that. He didn't, because he couldn't afford to.

For the moment, the bots were doing a sort of dance. Lucky bots couldn't actually be dazed, Hiro thought.

There—just as the pink bot struck a side swing—her side was wide open. Hiro pressed into the control panel. _Go!_ he thought. He feared the worst—the whirling blades, his bot annihilated. At this point, it was the only thing he could do, he thought.

One second too late, and the girl's bot swung at him again, hitting his bot square in the chest. But instead of jerking backward, Hiro's bot stuck to her's—the fist connecting into his bot's chest. As if…

The pink bot lowered Hiro's bot to the ground, and, as he watched in horror, saw the pink bot push at the bot with its foot. His bot wasn't connected to hers. No—as Hiro watched, it was much worse. A solid inch long spike showed at the end of the pink bot's fist.

He sucked in a breath as the control panel in his hands stopped vibrating, and sat dead in his hands. The pink robot, adding insult to injury, kicked hard at his bot, sending it skidding into his hands. The spike must have struck an important connection or wire. A perfect circled hole punctured into his bot's chest. It didn't move again.

The crowd erupted into a series of jeers and cheers as Hiro stood up, dejected and already forgotten. Tadashi was at his side in an instant, kneeling beside his little brother. Hiro was afraid to look at him. Was he angry? Hiro wondered.

"Look at me, buddy." Hiro did. Tadashi smiled his wide, crooked smile, the kind he got when he had a new idea. "That was a great fight."

"I lost," Hiro said, his voice a ghost of what it was before. All that money lost, he thought. Tadashi's money. His bot lay, thankfully not marred in his hands, but still injured.

"Yeah, but you don't learn anything if you win all the time."

"I'm sorry, Niisan."

Tadashi guided him through the crowd—the referee already calling for another contestant. Hiro glanced back once at the girl who defeated him. She caught his gaze and smirked.

"Don't let it bother you so much, little brother. Tell you what, when we get home, I'll fix your bot for you, okay? We can add a few mods, and test out a few move? Baymax can help if you hurt yourself," he added, jokingly.

Hiro smiled slowly at this. "Thanks, Niisan. You're the best."

"You think I didn't know that already?" Tadashi asked, teasingly. "Anyway, I'm getting hungry. I'll get us something to eat, too. C'mere." Tadashi knelt beside Hiro, indicating Hiro clamber onto his shoulders again.

"You know," Hiro said, as Tadashi stood again. "One day, I'm going to be a little too big for this."

"Today's not that day, though," Tadashi replied, and began walking again. As he stepped outside, Hiro ducking the door, Tadashi stopped and turned. Hiro turned his head to see a tall man, maybe Tadashi's height, standing there casually, wearing a T shirt with a strange circular glow in the center of his chest. His beard lined his jaw and made thin vs on both cheeks, and one from his chin. His eyebrow quirked up in a curious way.

"Are you the Hamada brothers? Hiro and Tadashi?"

Hiro felt Tadashi nod, warily.

"You're Tadashi, the elder brother?" he asked. "I'd assume so, you being big, strong, and carrying a thirteen year old boy on your shoulders."

"How do you know so much about us?" Hiro asked, feeling a scowl come over his face. "Who are you?"

"Jarvis told me," the man said. "My artificial butler. It's one of the perks of being a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, you know. Not that you should know who I am. Though you should." He shrugged his shoulders, and raising his eyebrows. To Hiro, it looked too much like arrogance. Even his posture suggested overconfidence. Hiro had never disliked someone so much on first sight.

Tadashi began taking a step out of the door, when the man spoke again.

"You might know me by another name. Does the name 'Iron Man' fire a few neurons in your heads? I did save your planet from destruction from a god, you know. Nothing big at all."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey, guys! Just here to say again that this is not actually my original idea!_

 _By the way, a really nice person told me in a review that technically "Niisan" exclusively means "big brother," and not "little brother." If there's anyone out there who can tell me technically what Hiro would call Tadashi, something instead of "Niisan," that would be great!_

 _Also, special thanks to the YouTuber Markiplier who inspires me to do great things like write fan fiction for all of you wonderful people! He's my living, breathing inspiration, and he always tells his fans to believe in themselves, and that means a lot to me, and I'd like to spread the same kind of positivity that he does through my own pieces of work that people take time out of their day to read and enjoy. If you ever need a little extra laughs in your life, look up Markiplier on YouTube._

 _Thanks for reading, I had no idea that people would like my story this much! Thank all of you lovely people who have decided that what I wrote was worth their time. That means so much to me!_

 _I'll stop blabbering, now. Thanks for reading!_

— _Prue**_

Hiro walked through the stone steps of the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. following behind Tadashi, though just barely. His mind still reeled at the thought of what happened the day before. He stopped at the threshold of double glass doors, swaying slightly as the palm of his hand caught the handle. Tadashi had already entered inside, but he turned, just inside the foyer, and smiled.

"What?" Hiro asked, though he already knew why.

"Why do you think?" Tadashi winked. "Still a little bit mind blown?" He imitated his head exploding, splaying out his fingers and mimicking an imaginary bomb, his lips rounding dramatically. He dropped his hands and grinned, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Hiro looked up at his big brother and smiled back.

"I just… can't believe it."

"You're acting like this is a bad thing, little brother." Tadashi stood by Hiro in three steps in three short seconds with his long legs, and before Hiro could protest, Tadashi picked up his little brother and slung Hiro over his shoulder. Hiro's world spun for several seconds, but Tadashi didn't wait. "Come on, we have to tell the others. They don't even know!" He began jogging toward the elevators, while Hiro grabbed onto Tadashi's jacket, trying to gain any kind of composure. He noted other students in the school staring at the both of them, but he couldn't be bothered by them, anyway. His head spun, and his stomach hurt, as Tadashi's shoulder dug into it painfully.

"Woah dude, really?" Fred asked for literally the fifth time in a row. Go Go pushed him out of the way, clearly irritated. She chewed audibly on a piece of gum, and stared at Hiro. He forced himself not to flinch, slightly. The expression on her face looked almost angry—intense.

"So, you met the big man?"

Hiro scratched the back of his head, reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"What was it like?" Wasabi asked excitedly, almost pushing Go Go out of the way, though he flinched from the look she gave him. He turned to Hiro excitedly, and a certain gleam in his eye showed a scary kind of obsessiveness.

"You are making Hiro-san anxious," Baymax stated, matter-of-factly. Wasabi turned to him, the look on his face incredulous.

"Man, you don't understand. Hiro met Iron Man!"

"You are correct. I do not understand. Who is this 'Iron Man'?"

Wasabi groaned theatrically and facepalmed himself. "See? Baymax is really intelligent—"

"—Thank you—" Baymax interrupted, his tone happy.

"—But Shi-kun," he said, turning to Tadashi, "you really need to program more important stuff into Baymax, like who Iron Man is."

Tadashi laughed. "Sorry, Wasabi-kun, but I programmed Baymax to be a healthcare companion, not as anything else."

"I'd think that kind of information would be pretty important," Fred said, rolling past Tadashi on a skateboard, holding up his hands in an innocent, conciliatory gesture, a smirk on his face.

"Guys, that's not really the point though," Honey Lemon protested, frowning. She pushed her rounded glasses up her nose. "The point is, Hiro-kun and Tadashi-san met _the_ _Iron Man_. And he wants to work with them."

"Wait, how did you—" Fred turned to Honey Lemon, who started blushing as she glanced at Tadashi, who shrugged and held up his phone, waving it teasingly.

"Hey, I had to tell someone. You didn't say anything, Honey-chan?"

"What do you mean he asked you to work with him?" Fred asked, incredulous. "Like, as his young protege sidekicks or something? That's sick!"

Hiro shrugged, frowning. "That's what it sounded like, anyway. I think he's more interested in Tadashi, though. I mean, he made Baymax, right?" He wasn't sure whether or not stating that Iron Man was so rude would benefit him anything. The entire room seemed too enamored with the thought of him and Tadashi meeting Iron Man. Personally, Hiro wanted to never see the man again, but Tadashi seemed to, which bothered him.

"But he's seen what you can do with your bot. Remember, he wanted you, too," Honey Lemon reminded Hiro, wrapping one arm around him. "Remember, you're pretty smart, too. You graduated from high school at middle school age. That's not unimpressive, Hiro-kun."

Hiro couldn't help but blush at this. Honey Lemon giggled and hugged him, squeezing his shoulders slightly. "I'm sure that you'll do fine. This will be perfect for a resume, when you're old enough."

"Hey hey, Hiro's a little too young for that still though, don't you think?" Tadashi teased, smiling.

"Says the over-protective big brother," Go Go commented, sarcastically. "Be glad Hiro-kun doesn't have a girlfriend or something. Though, that would be cute, too." She grinned, and Hiro rolled his eyes.

"I'm just looking for what's in his best interest is all," Tadashi argued, some heat in his voice.

"Hey now, Go Go's just teasing. You know that, don't you, Shi-kun?" Fred replied, patting Tadashi on the shoulder. "Besides, you still haven't explained what happened, exactly. You kind of left out the part where _Iron Man_ asked you guys to work with him."

 _The night before..._

Red and blue light from the neon signs on the side of the street shone on the wet concrete. Rain pattered onto Hiro and Tadashi's raven black hair. Hiro clutched the broken bot in his hand, blinking against the rain. Tadashi stepped just inside the doorway of the bot club, and Hiro ducked his head.

Tadashi let Hiro down onto the concrete outside of the bot fight club. Hiro half wished that Tadashi wouldn't—his legs shook as he stared up at Tony Stark, the man known as Iron Man. Someone Tadashi looked up to for years. Tadashi was exceptionally tall to Hiro, and Tony Stark stood similarly, and slightly taller. His body was more built, and his stance suggested a slight haughtiness or joking demeanor. Hiro wasn't sure which as he squinted at the celebrity in the rain. The quote to "never meet your hero" rang in his mind.

Tadashi stepped slightly to the front of Hiro, whether subconsciously or not, the younger brother wasn't sure. Tony Stark raised one eyebrow, and his head inclined ever so slightly, as if in approval of Tadashi's protectiveness of Hiro.

Despite himself, Hiro stepped out from behind Tadashi's barrier, raising an eyebrow. He started to form his own mental barrier. Whatever Tony Stark's intent was, Hiro felt a kind of hostility towards him, not knowing where the feeling came from. Maybe it was the way Tony Stark stared at the both of them. Maybe it was the bad lighting, the flickering neon lights lighting up the man's black shirt and Tadashi's familiar cap.

What do you mean you 'found us'?"

Tony Stark chuckled, and a certain foxish gleam in his eye shone. Hiro wasn't sure whether that disturbed him or not.

"I didn't mean to alarm you, Hiro," he replied. "I was merely interested in the both of you. Tadashi, correct?" he asked, referring to Tadashi, who nodded mutely. "You created Baymax, and I must admit that I am impressed with your skills on making large, robotic marshmallows. And Hiro, your robot?" he asked, nodding to the robot in Hiro's hand.

"Yeah, that doesn't make you any less creepy," Hiro said, sarcastically. Tadashi may like Iron Man, but what Hiro knew of him, he seemed… too haughty. Hiro wasn't even sure why he was being this rude, but at the same time, Tony Stark shouldn't have even known who the Hamada brothers were, let alone finding out where they were that night.

"Hiro-kun," Tadashi snapped. "Don't be rude."

"It's perfectly alright Tadashi, if Hiro is a little distrusting. In fact, I'd be concerned if he wasn't a little on the defensive side. I was mainly interested because of Baymax, but I had not realized that Hiro had a similar talent, as well. You graduated early from high school didn't you, Hiro? The both of you would make quite a team. Since you are brothers, it would make sense."

"Who is this Jarvis?" Hiro asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by an artificial butler?"

"He's an AI computer installed into all of my suits," he replied. "Much like Baymax, except he's less physical, and not a walking talking marshmallow."

"And you made him?" Tadashi asked, his mouth slightly gaping. Now that Hiro looked up at his big brother, he could tell that Tadashi looked slightly pale, and his hands clasped and unclasped, as though clammy.

"I make a lot of things," Tony Stark replied. "So do you, which is why I am interested in the both of you."

"In a pedophelic way?" Hiro murmured, and Tadashi shot him a pleading look.

"I like you, kid. In a non pedophilic way," Iron Man replied, his eyes portraying what Hiro could only describe as sassiness. "Anyway, I wanted to drop by, and see if you were interested in coming to see me in my wonderful abode, and maybe talk about inventing a few things if you're less inclined to not spend time with someone important, like me. You know, robotic kinds of things. It would be both in our best interests. You intrigue me, the both of you. And trust me, very few things intrigue me." He extended a small business card to Tadashi, who took it warily. Without saying goodbye, Tony Stark turned and walked away in the darkness.

 _..._

Hiro explained all of this in a few words, Tadashi adding in several details, some unnecessary. Hiro still felt unsettled about this as he looked at his big brother. Tadashi, though they fought sometimes, was Hiro's best friend in every way. Now that someone else had his full attention made Hiro feel a negativity towards Tony Stark. Much like when Tadashi had girlfriends, sometimes. Hiro bit his lip, feeling slightly disgusted with how selfish he was acting, but that was the best way he could possibly describe what he was feeling.

Not that he would ever admit it, but… Hiro felt fiercely jealous. In every way, Tadashi felt like the center of Hiro's world, and now that someone else decided to throw off his sense of metaphorical gravitational pull, that unsettled him. A lot.

 _Maybe I'm just overreacting,_ Hiro thought. But now that some hot shot gazillionaire decided to vie for Tadashi's whole attention seemed incredibly unfair.

"Hiro-kun?" Honey Lemon's voice brought him back.

"What?" he asked, blinking.

"You kind of zoned out for a bit there, buddy," Wasabi replied, waving a hand in front of Hiro's eyes. "You okay? Are you tired?"

Hiro pushed Wasabi's hand away. "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't you have something to work on?" His tone sounded slightly more irritated than usual.

Not that he would get away with that. Go Go raised an eyebrow, and Wasabi stared at Tadashi, and knitted his brows for a slight second towards him. The gesture was executed so quickly that Hiro wasn't sure whether or not it actually happened.

Honey Lemon placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "Hey Hiro-kun, do you want to go see something cool?" she asked. "I've been working on it for a few weeks, now. I think you'd like it."

"But—"

"Come on, everyone else has seen it. I've been dying to show you. You'd totally appreciate it, trust me." She gave him a push in the small of his back to show that fighting her wasn't an option. He wasn't exactly in the mood for a pep talk, but a small part of his mind tried to give Honey Lemon the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was just trying to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation.

She led him past a small glass partition door that opened as they approached, and closing as they entered. Hiro looked behind him back towards the group. They were talking about something else, probably more about Iron Man. Tadashi looked excited and enamored about the subject. Something in Hiro's gut twisted mercilessly, and he turned back only to find Honey Lemon's face level with his, and extremely close.

"Ah-ah!" he cried out, flailing backward, his arms windmilling. Honey Lemon's hand caught his arm, and he stopped, though he stared at Honey Lemon.

"Quiet, Hiro-kun!" Honey Lemon said, her eyes suddenly more intense.

"That was kind of unnecessary," Hiro said, frowning.

"So is your attitude towards Iron Man," Honey Lemon replied, scowling slightly. She turned around and began shifting around several instruments on her desk, almost for lack of anything else to say. Though Hiro knew better.

"Am I supposed to question why you're saying this?" he asked, sarcastically.

She seemed to find what she was looking for, because she turned around again, holding up a pair of glasses. "Put these on."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Put them on."

Hiro sighed, and took them from her, and sliding them on, he gasped, staring at Honey Lemon. He rubbed his eyes and looked through them again.

"Well?" Honey Lemon asked. "What do you think?"

"These are great, but… Wait, you're just trying to distract me, huh?"

"Not really. I did want to show you the glasses. Thermal imaging in a pair of normal glasses. Cool, huh? But that's not really the point." She took the glasses away from him, gently. "Hiro-kun, I know you're upset."

Hiro laughed, nervously. "Me? Nervous? What? Are you sure you're not talking to someone other than Hamada Hiro? Because I think you're not. Wait, what?" He frowned.

Honey Lemon giggled. "You know, for a genius, you can be a real doofus, sometimes. _And_ you're a horrible liar."

Hiro sighed, and Honey Lemon sat down on a stool in the corner, her long legs swinging outward. "You're upset with Tadashi-san, aren't you?"

Hiro scratched the back of his neck, letting out a slow breath. "Well, not really."

Her long legs swung again, but this time upward, and crossing into each other in her lap. She leaned forward, gripping the rim of the stool over her legs, which Hiro noted, were covered with leggings, and several pictures of cats in large purple and blue universes were imprinted on them. "Well?" Honey Lemon asked.

"You want an explanation? I thought you knew everything, already."

"Something's seriously wrong with you, Hiro. You're just jealous of Tony-san, right?"

"Who wouldn't be jealous? He's a millionaire."

"That doesn't matter, Hiro-kun. I'm talking about Tadashi's lack of interest in you."

Hiro winced. "It somehow sounds worse put into words."

"So you _are_ jealous," Honey Lemon replied, narrowing her eyes.

Hiro let his shoulders slump. "I'm sorry, Honey-chan."

"For what?"

Hiro hesitated, frowning. "I've been really rude, is all. I guess you are right, I am jealous of him."

"It's a perfectly normal reaction. It happens all of the time between siblings. You want Shi-kun's attention, but he's not giving it to you. He's focusing most of his attention on Tony-san."

Hiro pursed his lips. "I guess."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Honey Lemon suddenly stood beside Hiro, and she knelt down to his level. "Remember, you're Hamada Tadashi-kun's little brother. He talks about you all the time, you know. Some _baka_ celebrity won't steal all of him from you. Remember that, Hiro-kun." She ruffled his hair, turning the front part of it into a bird nest floof.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Now let's get back before Shi-kun realizes I'm giving you a pep talk. Just know that Tadashi-kun still loves and cares about you, okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Yeah."


End file.
